Bob Wise: “I guess my Keynes is Ronald Reagan, who managed to push tax cuts through and spending increases through, using what had…”

“I guess my Keynes is Ronald Reagan, who managed to push tax cuts through and spending increases through, using what had heretofore been traditional Keynesian economics, to spur an economy, and for a while it caught. The only problem is, that is why we are here today on a balanced budget amendment, because the deficit went from $1 trillion to $4.5 trillion. The gentleman would require a 60-percent vote in order for Congress to act during a recession. The problem is too often you are not sure you are into a recession until the recession is already on you. You would make it very difficult to act in the early days before everyone fully appreciated it. By the time you finally get around to doing something about it, it may have been aggravated by the delay. I do not understand what is wrong with a majority vote in order to do the kind of actions that are necessary, countercyclical actions, necessary to counteract a recession. That is a fundamental difference we have.”